The Supreme Court will hear arguments in two weeks over whether President Obama’s executive action for undocumented immigrants should be allowed to go forward.
This week, both House and Senate Republicans filed briefs with the Court against allowing the undocumented parents of United States citizens to apply for temporary work permits and be relieved of the danger of deportation.
Forty-three senators, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, filed a friend-of-the-court brief on Monday saying that President Obama’s actions undermined the immigration laws of the United States. Notably, eleven Republican senators refused to sign the brief.
A similar brief filed by the House follows the passage of a resolution (opposed by all Democrats in Congress) authorizing the brief. The House brief argues that the President authorized “the prospective violation of [immigration] laws on a massive class-wide scale.” House Democrats have filed their own brief supporting the DACA and DAPA work authorization programs.
Last week the states challenging the president’s executive action filed their own brief. The plaintiffs argued that “DAPA is an extraordinary assertion of Executive power. The Executive has unilaterally crafted an enormous program, one of the largest changes ever to our Nation’s approach to immigration. In doing so, the Executive dispensed with immigration statutes by declaring unlawful conduct to be lawful.”
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the case on April 18. Dozens of briefs have been filed in the case. The briefs from legal scholars and faith-based congregations support the president. Both sides of the immigration issue are planning rallies in Washington outside the Supreme Court building while the arguments are going on.
Over the coming weeks, I will write about how those eligible for the DACA/DAPA programs can get ready to apply for them if there is a favorable decision by the Supreme Court.
For more about the DAPA/DACA+ case read HERE
